Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program is the BEST!

The other night I realized that we are in desperate need of the summer reading program. I know that sounds intense, but seriously … we need it. During the school year I will admit that we don’t make it to the library nearly as often as I would like. Luckily we have a great collection of books at home to choose from. But, by the time Spring hits, we are ready to explore some new ones for a while. This is why the Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program is the best!

Breaking Out of a Reading Rut

I realized this need when we were reading yet another Berenstain Bears book with my just-turned-8-year-old. Now please don’t get me wrong. We LOVE the Berenstain Bears. I wrote this post all about the wonderful lessons the books can teach, how much my oldest loves them, and how much I loved them as a kid. But as we read this particular one for the gagillionth time, I noticed that we were both losing interest. While I’m all for reading the same book many times over, there’s also a point when you need a break. I would absolutely hate if we read them so often that they lost their magic. So, summer reading program to the rescue!

The best part about the Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program is the sheer amount of books we get to take home after each trip. This is the time of year that we can really just read whatever looks like it might be interesting. And there are just so many to choose from! We love that we can participate at our local branch and at the amazing Central Library downtown (or really any branch for that matter). Trips to the downtown library are one of our very favorite rainy summer day activities.

In addition to being a great way to break us out of our reading rut, the Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program is the best because it is genuinely a lot of fun. The boys absolutely love earning points and rewards all summer long. The prizes are great for them and for us as a family.

Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program – The Prizes

While the boys love all the little prizes, my favorite thing to do is save all my points for the big ones. And brilliantly, while you have kids who are young enough to read to (though I would argue that this stage should last much longer than most people let it), you get to earn double points. The kid gets points for reading, and you get points for reading to them. Or, if your older kiddo reads to a younger one, he or she gets those points too!

My favorite big item to save for each year is the Indianapolis Indians tickets. The library hosts a library night game each year during the season. We earn free tickets for all, or at least most, of us every year. It is so nice to be able to show the boys that their work can pay off in such fun ways.

This year also happens to be the 100th year of the Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program! The website says that one way they plan to celebrate is to give even bigger prizes for every 100 points earned. They will give a prize bundle with a book, a prize, and a discount every time you or your kiddos earns another 100 points! Watch the video below to see more.

Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program – The Activities

Another thing we love about the Indy Library’s Summer Reading Program is all the great activities they put on. This year I am most excited about the Duct Tape “Squishy” Art Class and the Story Book Food Class for Kids. But they also have robotics time, theatre performances, architecture classes, animal shows and activities, and free movies. Seriously, how much good FREE stuff can one place offer?!

We genuinely spent a ton of rainy and super-hot days at the library last year. And we never ran out of things to do. If you would like to find out more about when and where you can find these great activities, click here for their summer events schedule. On the other hand, if you just need to get some of your never-ending mompreneur work done, you could always just take the kids and let them read and play while you work. The possibilities are endless!

Summer Reading is for Adults Too

As you may have guessed, reading is one of my favorite summer activities too. And I’m so excited about this year’s summer reading program for adults. I have never participated in one before. In fact, I’m not even sure if they have ever done one before. But this one looks great. All the books on their list are rebooted in some way. They take old tales and re-imagine their possibilities.

I am most excited for Unmarriagable, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I also have plans to read Much Ado About Mean Girlsthis summer. It is not on the library’s list, but it is definitely on mine!

At most locations, the kickoff for the library’s summer reading program is June 1st. You can register at any location. And, as always, you can check out and return books to any location as well. That means it is completely fine to get the books at one location and return them to another. It’s so nice for busy families!

As always, thanks for reading. If you would like to keep up with what we are reading this summer, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. I hope to run into many of you at the library this summer!

If you have comments or questions, I would love to hear from you! Follow one of the accounts below and leave me a comment there.

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